Alternative tool drawer lining?

[drummerdimitri]

So like most of us here, I don't buy sets of tools that come in their own custom foam pad where they conveniently slot back in so they always stay in place when the drawers are opened/closed multiple times.

The current lining of my drawers is a foam pad about 3 mm thick. It does a good job of keeping the tools scratch free and all but unless I close and open the tool drawers at a sluggish pace, they start moving out of their original position rather quickly and it just looks like a cluttered mess!

What other lining could I use that has a much higher coefficient of static friction (stickier) so that the tools stay in place with normal opening/closing speed?

I was thinking something like one of those phone pads that one places on their car's dashboard would be great but I doubt I would find it in sizes large enough to fit the drawers.

Anyone else tackled this issue with resounding success?

 

[bonneyman]

There's a thread somewhere that shows a guy who took thick insulated copper wire wrapped around a dowel and then attached inside the drawer. One can slide wrenches, screwdrivers, etc. into the slots made to hold the tools. Plus one can flatten the wire to fit thinner drawers.
Did it to a toolbox at work and it performed well. But nobody would take the time to put the tools back properly so within a week or two the drawers were all screwed up again.

For sockets something like the Hansen or Eastwood racks work well. If that idea could be modified for wrench and ratchet use then so much the better.

FWIW

 

[mooman]

Yoga mats


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[dmaxfireman]

https://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=446688

I've since found a local supplier which is cheaper for me due to no shipping.

 

[drummerdimitri]

https://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=446688

I've since found a local supplier which is cheaper for me due to no shipping.

Cool!

Not sure I will be able to find that locally, but I really should try experimenting with other similar things in case I don't.

 

[drummerdimitri]

I just remembered having bought a piece of kitchen drawer lining for an old project and decided to cut a piece to fit one of my drawers to test it out and lo and behold, it works amazingly well!

It is made of some kind of rubber that is smooth at the bottom but slightly ribbed on top so that's what makes it grip to the tools so well and doesn't let them slide around inside the drawer.

Need to buy me some more of them but the challenge now is how to get the perfect cut. I don't have a large cutting mat and I'm afraid of using a cutter on such thick material (1.5 mm) as I've had a bad experience with a cutter blade in the past.

I'm sure the company that sells them also cuts them to fit their customer's kitchen drawers so will give them the interior dimensions and have them cut it for me.

 

[Jim_No_Garage]

I've think I used my wife's fabric wheel cutter to cut yoga mats for toolbox liners.

http://www.joann.com/sewing/cutting-tools/rotary-cutting/rotary-cutters/

Cheers

Jim

 

[MushCreek]

Most drawer liners are too thin, that's why they bunch up. I've always used indoor-outdoor carpet. The big box stores sell gray stuff with ribs. I run it so the ribs run crossways to help hold stuff in place. In my trade as a toolmaker, I have a lot of very heavy tooling, and have yet to find a drawer liner that works as well as the carpet.

 

[justintendo]

lowes has rolls of us made drawer liner...made by zerust..i just redid my krl761 which is 56x22. im pretty happy with it. tools stay in place and it lays nice. i dont see this bunching up ever

https://www.lowes.com/pd/Kobalt-Zerust-Solid-Drawer-Liner/3374226

 

[csp]

I've used yoga mats and just picked up a new treadmill mat from an auction to try it out as drawer liners. The only downside to it I see is it's about 3/16" thick. For $5 no big deal if it doesn't work.

 

[Steve_P]

Another vote for yoga mats. I bought a huge roll online and no issues after 10+ years